The Fountain City Council met on Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Meeting Room. Council members present were Jim Schott, Chad Wangen, Chris Ostby, and Mayor Richard Kujath. Absent was Dave Gudmundson. Also present were City Clerk Ronda Flattum and Police Chief Tom Mosher.

The first order of business was approving the consent agenda items which included approving minutes of the July 2, 2013 meeting, the Treasurer’s Report, monthly city bills, monthly Fire Department bills, and a payment to MPFA in the amount of $54,045.47.

In the city maintenance report it was established that North Star Pump Services has completed its job order at the north lift station.

Dave Gartner with McGhie and Betts, Inc. reported that there continues to be a problem with Nitrogen. Attempts to solve the issue will continue through the winter months to possibly find a solution. The computer had some viruses that were taken care of. There is currently no agreement with Valley Design as it has expired.

The city clerk report included a discussion on the Small City Grant Fund. A resident is requesting $12,575, plus small administrative costs, through the Small City Grant Fund for a fix-up on their home. There is currently $14,713 in the City of Fountain’s Small City Grant Fund. The council approved the request.

Police Chief Tom Mosher reported the squad car had the windshield replaced on July 2 after receiving a rock chip. Officer Mosher reported he assisted an individual who owns apartments buildings with a civil issue.

On July 8, 2013 Chief Mosher conducted three interviews on the vandalism that has occurred in the city parks recently. He met with three youths with their parents present. The vandalism has included a broken board and canvas on equipment, broken branches on trees, paint and feces in the city park restrooms, and broken plexi-glass on equipment. Two older girls admitted to climbing trees but stated they did not break the branches.

The kids stated that there had been some small tears in the canvas on the play equipment and evidently some kids had been playing a game and one child climbed out onto the tarp causing the tears to give way and the child fell through the canvas. None of the children admitted to being the child who fell through the canvas however. Police Chief Mosher feels the vandalism has stopped.

On Saturday, July 13, 2013 the BPM Motorcycle Club held an event at the Community Center. Officer Mosher was going to be out of town at the time so he contacted the Sheriff’s Office and notified them of the event. Businesses in town were notified of the event and members of the Gang Task Force were in town in unmarked vehicles. No problems were reported. The following weekend another event was held at the Community Center which involved a motorcycle ride. This event caused more noise around Fountain.

July 11, 2013 Officer Mosher received a phone call stating that the water tower was leaking. Upon investigation it was found that due to the high humidity the water tower was sweating causing water to drip down.

On July 15, 2013, 13 residents were sent letters about dog licenses that had not been purchased. The letters stated the residents had until July 25 to obtain a license. On July 30, three citations were sent out.

Police Chief Mosher discussed the LETG program and whether he would choose to participate or not. The program would require the purchase of a laptop computer and a fee to be connected with the State of Minnesota’s computer. Officer Mosher does not think this program is necessary for the two small towns of Fountain and Ostrander, Minn. where he is police chief. He is attending training to find out more about the program and then will make his final decision.

On July 18, 2013 there was an officer parked doing radar checks on Cedar Street. Three stops were made. All three individuals reside in Lanesboro, Minn.

Tom Mosher discussed with the council that there are a lot of burglaries taking place in the area again. The suspects are primarily going to abandoned places and taking items. The suspects are spending quite a bit of time at the crime scene as leftover food, cigarette butts, etc. have been found at the sites following the burglaries. Chief Mosher would like to remind residents to lock up their property and report any suspicious behavior to authorities.

The Stipulation Agreement Response to the MPCA for the Waste Water Treatment Plant was discussed. PeopleService, Inc. is increasing their rates by 1.8 percent.

A permit was approved to Brent Miller to build a 40x60 shed, which had already been approved by the Zoning Committee.

A preliminary budget meeting will be held Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at 7 p.m.

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